So...we have a lot, and I mean A LOT of music to learn for our pops concert. That's awesome, since it's all great music....but it's still a lot to learn! For a grade, please outline for me rehearsal strategies for TWO (2) different pieces of music. BE SPECIFIC!! I want to know:
- the piece of music you are outlining a strategy for...LOTR, Chicago, I Dreamed a Dream, Walk this Way, Eleanor Rigby, Smells like Teen Spirit, Sweet Child o' Mine, Rainbow Connection, or Willy Wonka
- specific passages from that piece you'll be working on
- how you plan on approaching those passages
This will be due by MIDNIGHT on Friday, March 15th. Please remember that last submissions will not be submitted. If you have technology trouble, you may hand-write your submission and turn it in to me Friday during class (or print out a screenshot of your submission and give it to me).
This assignment is for Concert, Serenade, and Symphonia.
One of my strageries for practicing "Smells like Teen Spirit" is listening to it on youtube before playing. I don't really know the song so it helps to hear it "for real" before I play.
ReplyDeleteFor Walk This Way,I need to focus more on shifting from A to A # and E flat to E sharp. I honestly just need to take my viola home and practice in general.
I need to work on the fingering for the 8th notes in LOTR, I also have the same type of issue in walk this way, my hand hates me =( I'll pratice a little more than usual this weekend.
ReplyDeleteHi Andy! Can you give me some specific ways that you're going to work on those 8th notes in LOTR and Walk This Way this weekend?
Deleteby plaing the passage slow, and slowly build up speed to the actual tempo so my hand gets fimilar with the patterns
Deletefor chicago we should play with more emotion, that goes for all the pieces. For lord of the rings we should focus more on crescendos and decresendos
ReplyDeleteHi Charnell! For this assignment, I need for YOU to give me some specific passages from those two pieces that are challenging for you and how you plan to practice them at home.
DeleteWhen practicing Lord of the Rings or Chicago , I start out by practicing the parts that have a lot of eighth or sixteenth notes and/or accidentals or key signatures that I'm less familiar with. Like in measure 133 of Lord of the Rings, violas have to play an A flat and in measure 140 of Chicago, i'm unfamiliar with the key signature. I begin practicing at a VERY slow tempo until I feel confident enough about it to go faster. After that I practice subdividing the more familiar notes to get better at counting and then I play through the whole song. Also when i get frustrated, I play a song that I feel confident about to relax myself, do something else for a little while and come back to it when I'm ready.
ReplyDeleteIn walk this way I have trouble with measures 31-34 and 46-48 (it's the same thing). I plan to write the counting in and highlight the accidentals. Then I will slow it sown and gradually speed up. In Chicago I have trouble swinging the end and remembering all the sharps in general. I'm going to go through and highlight all the sharps. At the end I will add bow markings an slow it down and just repeat to get it right.
ReplyDeleteIn I Dreamed A Dream i have to remember to play each note gently and to imagine it like a wedding song when the bride walks down the isle, even though the notes have staccato markings play them together and softly in the beginning.And In Walk this way throughout the piece we need to subdidvide in measures like 11-19 so that we can stay together and not rush but also keep watching the conductor to not lose the tempo. I LOVE YOOUUUU MRSS. BAAWCUMMMMM !! :)
ReplyDeleteI have trouble with occasional measures in every song, but I need to focus the most on Chicago. The key signature changes can get confusing, so I am going to color code each change according to the sharps and flats. Also, when I am practicing I am going to stop before every change and play a 2 octave scale of that specific key, that way I will know what to look for when playing that section. In Lord of the Rings I need to focus on the dynamics. Even though the beginning is just tied whole notes for the violas, it should sound like its breathing, which i can't hear right now. I'll practice by gradually making the height of the crescendo, in the middle of the bow, louder and the start and end, at the top and frog, softer.
ReplyDeleteIn measures 21-25 of Chicago, I need to make sure that i'm paying attention to all of the accidentals and playing the notes in tune.
ReplyDeleteIn I Dreamed a Dream (and all of the other pieces too) I need to work on playing the crescendos and decrescendos so the piece sounds like it's being played with more emotion. Also,so it becomes more appealing to not only myself, but the audience too.
When I’m trying to learn a new piece of music one of the things I always do is find a place where I can listen to. YouTube is great for this especially if it is a well known piece. I always seem to learn a new piece best when we play it in parts instead of just playing all the way through. I like to start on the parts that I'm familiar with. For example, in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory we have parts from Pure Imagination, Oompa-Loompa-Doompadee-Doo, and the Candy Man. I like to start with the places where I(Viola) have those parts. In measures 39-46 the Violas have the melody from Oompa-Loompa and the melody from the Candy Man shows up several times. We have that melody in measure 70-72 and in 110-113 one string up. I think if you learn the parts that are familiar you can go back and learn the parts in between until you can play it through. This also works really well with Lord of the Rings and Chicago. Each piece is a blend from several different songs so finding the parts of each song works really well. - Joseph H. 3rd Period
ReplyDeleteThe first thing I like to do when I get a new piece of music is to try to listen to an arrangement of it. It helps me with how fast the tempo is, what key signature it is played in, and how the rhythms are played. In Walk This Way, I have to practice more on the rhythms than the intonation. I like to start it SLOWLY and gradually get faster. I repeatedly do this because it helps me memorize exactly how it's supposed to go. In Willy Wonka, I have to practice more on the dynamics. Without the dynamics, it just sounds boring. I have to make my crescendos and decrescendos more dramatic. By doing this the audience finds it more appealing to listen too.
ReplyDelete~Marissa B. ^-^
For I Dreamed a Dream I have to work on my shifting and make sure my highest notes don't sound shrill or sickly (approximately measures 41-59). I also need to intensify my dynamics to capture the tone of the song and how it fluctuates throughout.
ReplyDeleteFor Chicago, I have to just practice it meticulously and repeatedly until I get accustomed to the key changes and start playing the right notes out of habit. They can be confusing at first but if I work on it a lot I'm sure I can overcome it.
A strategy that I like to use for learning a new piece of music is to listen to a recording of it. That helps me know what I am playing. In Walk this Way, I need to practice the more important parts, like measure 11-19. I need to practice the dynamics, and I also need to keep the G# sharper. In Chicago, I need to practice measure 140-148. I need to count in my head so i play the notes right on time.
ReplyDeleteThe Rainbow Connection
ReplyDeleteIn this piece, I would work on measures 21 through 38. I would first point out dynamic level at 21 and 37. I would clap the rhythm in measures 29 and 30 just to make sure they hold the dotted quarter note for one and a half beats. I would then run through the passage. I would correct my 4th finger A in measures 21 and 22. Next, I would make sure I am doing the correct bowings because there are quite a few slurs. I would run through the passage again fixing all of simple mistakes.
I Dreamed a Dream
In this piece, I would work on measures 49 through 55. I would start out by noting the accidentals in 49 and 51-55. I would pay attention to the rests, so I would need to work on subdividing and counting. The rhythm is pretty much the same throughout this passage. I would clap measures 49 and 50 to make sure I understand the rhythm. I would note the dynamic level in measure 49. I would play it and fix the accidentals because I probably didn’t play them. I would take a look at the slurs because the bowing is important. The intonation will probably be the biggest worry in this passage.
-Sarah Roon(:
The Rainbow Connection
ReplyDeleteIn this piece, I would work on measures 21 through 38. I would first point out dynamic level at 21 and 37. I would clap the rhythm in measures 29 and 30 just to make sure they hold the dotted quarter note for one and a half beats. I would then run through the passage. I would correct my 4th finger A in measures 21 and 22. Next, I would make sure I am doing the correct bowings because there are quite a few slurs. I would run through the passage again fixing all of simple mistakes.
I Dreamed a Dream
In this piece, I would work on measures 49 through 55. I would start out by noting the accidentals in 49 and 51-55. I would pay attention to the rests, so I would need to work on subdividing and counting. The rhythm is pretty much the same throughout this passage. I would clap measures 49 and 50 to make sure I understand the rhythm. I would note the dynamic level in measure 49. I would play it and fix the accidentals because I probably didn’t play them. I would take a look at the slurs because the bowing is important. The intonation will probably be the biggest worry in this passage.
-Sarah Roon(:
I think for all this music I will be focusing on a different piece every few nights. First, I will listen to an audio of a previous recording of it to find out the mood and tempo. Then just like in class, I will break each piece down and work chunk by chunk. Every piece has their challenging part and I will be focusing on that because this is pop music the audience is going to be more familiar with the songs. For example in I dreamed a Dream, which we just worked in class today, I will just go over the rhythm and the occasional accidental. Overall, I will be working on intonation as usual.
ReplyDelete-Katelon Kerns.
In both Willy Wonka & I dreamed a dream, I make sure to listen to both recordings of them so I make sure I know how it is supposed to sound...
ReplyDeleteIn Willy Wonka; I focus on my making sure I pay attention to sharps and flats. Measures 1-4 as well as 29-30 I make sure to subdivide/count so I do not rush! (Signing along with this piece helps me a lot) Highlighting the accidentals helps me and makes me stop and check myself!
I Dreamed a Dream; EXTENDED 4th FINGER!!!! Writing x4 as well as putting 2nd where 3rd finger should be and making sure to stretch to as much as possible. Measure 33 with that pizz. is where I make sure to keep extra count and breathing with every note slows me down so I can't rush.
For ALL the pieces watching Dynamic is a big thing ! (Highlighting Helps (: )
*Ryann Powell*
In Eleanor Rigby measures 1-2 the cellos have eighth notes followed by eighth rests. The biggest issue in the entire song is rushing the rest. To help the issue, during practice I circle the rest as well as write the counts above the measure so I know while counting were the rest falls. In LOTR, measures 1-8 the cellos have slured eighth notes (a,c#,e, and f)the e and f are going to be flat. To correct the issue, I have written fingerings in the music that I look at before I play the music, reminding myself of the notes so they will not be flat.
ReplyDeleteSone we listened to Walk This Way in class, I know how it sounds but my strategy for figuring out how to master the weirder rhythms (m46-54) is to start playing trough the measures at a really slow tempo and to gradually get to full speed. Also, even though Willy Wonka is one of the easier pieces rhythmically, I don't know the songs in it, so my strategy is to YouTube them and to follow along in my part. This way I'll have a better idea of what style to play with.
ReplyDeleteAmanda Sheets
The best part about having a pops concert is that for most of the songs, you know what it sounds like. For example, with Sweet Child O' Mine, I know that the last measures are supposed to be dramatic, but laid back. So if I can get that feel for the song and break it down and just chill, it will sound like the actual song. As for Chicago, the different key changes are super tricky, but I know I can hum the tune to myself (especially All That Jazz since cellos have the melody) or go and listen to the recording, and start slow to build up to actual tempo and style.
ReplyDeleteI feel that if we can get the notes and rhythms down, then we can get to the nitty-gritty of each song.
Since we listened to Walk This Way in class, I know how the song sounds, so my strategy is to take the measures I don't know (particularly m46-54) and play through them starting at a slow tempo and gradually speeding up to full speed. Also, even though the rhythms are easy, I don't know the songs in Willy Wonka, so my strategy is to YouTube the songs and follow along in my part (especially at m18-22, 49-57, 72-89 where cello's have a soli) so I will have a better idea of what style to play with.
ReplyDeleteIn walk this way, I'm having some trouble with measures 11-16 and 26-30. I'm mostly struggling with the rhythm at 11-16, so I plan on listening to the song and slowing it down. As I begin to feel more comfortable with the rhythm and intonation of these measures, I'll gradually get faster until it's at set tempo. Something to also keep in mind are the sharps and natural throughout the piece. In Sweet Child O'Mine I was having trouble with measures 9-16, but I took it slow and played faster every time. Now I'm practicing measures 33-37 because of the naturals. The rhythm is similar to what's written in 11-16, so it shouldn't be that hard.
ReplyDeleteIn I Dreamed a Dream, measures 7-15 sound very choppy. I know it has staccato markings but the piece is calm, so we should work on making the quarter notes flow more. I have trouble with Chicago because I've never heard it before and I don't know how the piece goes. Sooo we should listen to it in class. Also we should clap and count the rhytms in measures 131-135 because I'm im pretty sure concert has never seen them before.
ReplyDeleteAll the music is really difficult in general. In LOTR (mainly page 1) I think we should work through that together as a class. And in Chicago (the whole piece) its kind of a rocky piece that nobody really knows anything about so I think we should watch it in class (the songs that piece consists of) and clap through some of the more difficult rhythms.
ReplyDeleteMy two favorite pieces are I Dreamed a Dream and Eleanor Rigby. In I Dreamed a Dream, we really need to practice our vibrato, as it would be VERY beautiful in this piece. We also need to play more legato and gentle in order to receive the feeling that the song actually portrays. In Eleanor Rigby, the violas really need to work on measures 3 and 4.
ReplyDeleteMy two favorite pieces are I Dreamed a Dream and Eleanor Rigby. In I Dreamed a Dream, we really need to practice our vibrato, as it would be VERY beautiful in this piece. We also need to play more legato and gentle in order to receive the feeling that the song actually portrays. In Eleanor Rigby, the violas really need to work on measures 3 and 4.
ReplyDeleteIn I dreamed a dream starting at measure 7 I have trouble being more fluent with my bowing, so to help I play a little lighter and gentler. I also need to remain constant and not to rush and keep up with the correct bowing starting from the beginning of the piece. In rainbow connection at measure 21 we have to switch strings, so I just place first finger on C on the G string and second where 4th finger A is on the D string to make things easier.
ReplyDeleteIn Lord of the Rings, we really need to get the dynamics right by doing the crescendo and decrescendos to add to the mystical feeling along with playing the accidentals correctly. In Sweet Child of Mine, the violins need to find a better way to play the begging part. This can be done by playing slowing and gradually getting faster.
ReplyDeleteIn I dreamed a dream starting at measure 7 I have trouble being more fluent with my bowing, so to help I play a little lighter and gentler. I also need to remain constant and not to rush and keep up with the correct bowing starting from the beginning of the piece. In Rainbow Connection at measure 21 you have to switch strings. What I do to make things easier is so place first finger on C on the G string and second finger on A on the D string.
ReplyDeleteWhat helps me in learning how to play "Walk This Way" is listening to how the piece is supposed to sound so I can get an idea of the rhythms. In this piece, I will work on catching the accidentals before getting to that note to make sure that it is in tune. In "I Dreamed A Dream" listening to a recording or an arrangement of this song also helps me with the rythms. I will practice the bowing in measures 1-7 whcih repeats later in the song. I need to work on slurring when the violas have the melody in measure 7-14. Knowing the mood of the song will help me get better at each individual piece also.
ReplyDelete-Englyn Harris
In Lord of the rings I'm going to work on measure 138-120 trying to tune that last note because I'm always flat & out of tune ! I'm also going to work on Walk This Way measures 11-33 and try to get the tempo and notes mastered.
ReplyDelete-Jordan Duddley
For me, I always like looking up the original song and then if they have it, an instrumental form of the song before I play it; that way I have a better idea of how it sounds while I play. Also, I always take a part of the song I dont quite get and play each measure like a Simon game. Play the first, then the first and second, then the first, second, and third, etc. etc.LIke in LOTR measures 78 through 86, or Sweet Child of Mine measures 51 through 68.
ReplyDeleteI dreamed a dream, making the notes more crisp and distinguishable by adding more spiccato and using more of the bow. In LOTOR, we need to add the crescendos and decrescendos to make the song sound just as adventurous and mystical as it did in the movies. Also playing the accidentals correctly with the right markings and tempo.
ReplyDeleteI dreamed a dream, We should work more on making the song sound more emotional, by using more dynamics, bow styles, and by following the tempo. In LOTOR, we should incorporate the crescendos and decrescendos to make the song sound just as mystical and adventurous as it did in the movies. Also using the right accidentals and tempo markings. Both songs could be done by using the full bow and the right playing style
ReplyDeleteI need to work on the sixteenth notes in Walk This Way. I keep having trouble remembering which notes should be sharp and which ones shouldn't. To work on this, because i'm not too familiar with the song, I need to listen to the recorded version first, and take what I hear then slow it down. After I have the notes down, I can just move up the tempo.
ReplyDeleteIn I Dreamed a Dream, we need to learn to play more dramatic by making the phrases flow better. To fix this, we can add some vibrato for the dramatic effect and work on longer bow strokes to make the piece flow. This goes for the whole piece. In Chicago, I think the two main problems are the rhythms and key signatures. The 3 and 4 sharps are throwing people off so we should play those scales to get the right intonation and then clapping the tricky rhythms.
ReplyDeleteIntonation is going to be a big problem for me in Chicago because of all of the key changes. I am going to use colored pens to mark the key changes and the accidentals in my music. I plan on paying special attention to the key changes in measures 123-140. I am going to play through the different sections slowly, focusing on intonation and finger placement. I'm going to focus on jumping intervals instead of rhythms at first. I will gradually increase the tempo after I get used to all of the accidentals and key changes. I'll also try to play corresponding scales before each section. I Dreamed a Dream is one of my favorite songs from Les Mis and I really want to capture the feeling of the song when I play it. Today in class, the clinician played the song beautifully with vibrato and dynamics and I'd like to be able to do that as well. I am going to do the exercises she taught us and work towards adding vibrato to the song. The dynamics in measures 30-33 are especially important so I will highlight them in my part and work on the crescendo.
ReplyDeleteWhen practicing Willy Wonka I first start to figure out the rhythm, such as counting the beats in my head and making note of it in my part. Then I observe the notes in the measure. Lastly i play it slowly and then i gradually play it at the right tempo. That routine is pretty much what I do with every piece.
ReplyDeleteEspecially in Walk this Way measures 11-17 and 23-30. Even though it sounds exactly how the real song does it gets confusing when its on paper and slowly.
For me, I don't know most of the music, so just going onto YouTube and listening to the songs will help me a lot. I have the most trouble with Smells Like Teen Spirit (the entire piece). Once I take the time to sit down and practice the rhythms over and over again until I get them right, I will improve a ton! Also, I have trouble with Walk This Way, measures 49-51. I really new to practice that over and over again until it just becomes muscle memory and I can play it by heart. This will help me a lot.
ReplyDeleteI think that in Selections from Chicago we need to play it with lots of "swing" in the notes making it sound more like a jazzy piece. At measure 131 we also have to make sure we start slowly and softly and gradually grow faster and louder. In I Dreamed a Dream we have to make sure the piece is gentle unlike most of the other pieces. The staccato notes can't be too short and detached either. They have to be somewhat smooth to keep the piece nice and dramatic. This next thing is not something that has to be done, but a suggestion to the violinists and violists is that we should try to imply what we learned about vibrato today. One place we tried it out was during The Lord of the Rings in the beginning where we have all whole notes until we get up to measure 12. This is a great spot, but it's not the only piece where we can input this technique.
ReplyDeleteIn rainbow connection I have problems with the melody because I am not familiar with the song, so I plan to take my instrument home and listen to the song and match (in a way) what I hear with what I am playing.
ReplyDeleteIn the piece Lord of the rings I plan to practice my verbrato because our guest in class today inspired me to play better. So I plan to be able to verbrato the long sections of whole notes at the beginning of the piece and towards the middle of the piece.
1:- Lord of the rings.
ReplyDelete-I need to work on measures 1-9. And the way I'm approaching this is at home I play along to the original soundtrack of the movie so I can really hear how it's supposed to sound like!
So basically I just match my sound to that of the cellos in the soundtrack.
2: -I dreamed a dream
- Measures 41-49
-I'm going to take out the shifts and just start in 3rd position and play the High D on the D string so I won't have to stretch/shift to the E and F and it'll be alot more relaxed. And just like Lord of the Rings.. I'll be playing along to a recorded version of the piece.
1.)For LOTR, I will use the strategy of working backwards, starting at the end and then slowly working up the page until I am at the begining. The very end is the hardest part, mainly because the basses actually sound like the melody, so I will start there so that I am not starting from the beginning and getting tired at the end.
ReplyDelete2.)For Chicago, I will be doing the same strategy, but I will focus on the last theme of the song 'we both reach for the gun' to the end. This will allow me to perfect the part that is at the end so that even when I am tired, I will know this through muscle memory.
For Willy Wonka I think that we should break up the sections and work them out slowly then gradually speed up and add style to it to make it fun and interesting.
ReplyDeleteAlso for LOTR during the chorus or main part we need to work on portraying the "Jurassic" time period by adding more style techniques. And I thing by focusing on style, the notes will come natrually.
In The Lord of The Rings measures 1-8 for cellos, we have little intonation issues, to resolve this problem, we should set new fingerings so we can be more in tune. Also we need more legato to capture the feeling of the music. Instead of that "choppy" sound we need to use all of our bow. For Eleanor Rigby measures 1-14, because its not as difficult, we must remain on beat, by doing this we need to listen to the people around us.
ReplyDeleteI feel as if listening to a piece, especially pops music, before I play it really cements the rhythms and such in my mind, allowing me to play better. Also, measures 21-35 in the Rainbow Connection; I don't know what it is, but it just doesn't sound good when we play it in class, it seems to be a mix of a lack of confidence, out of tune notes, and a rigidity of our bow strokes. I don't know how to fix the confidence thing, but keeping our arm moving and flowing,\ and finding the notes before we begin would fix the other 2 issues.
ReplyDelete